The Wilkes Team

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.

The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.

She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.

She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

She is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar.

She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.

She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.

She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.

She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.

She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.

She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.

She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and

purple.

Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.

She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.

She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.

Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.

Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Proverbs 31:10-31

May every Mother out there have a blessed weekend! What would we do without you all! Your role is so important! The needs you meet and the way you bless each one of your children’s lives is going to impact them for the rest of their life.

Thank you for the commitments you have made to make your family successful. We can’t make it with out you! May God bless you in all that you do. May He give you and your husband wisdom to train your children in the ways of the Lord. May your spiritual walk with Christ grow and become even more intimate. For it is only through Him that you will have the strength to meet life’s challenges successfully.

We praise God for you! And may we as your children honor you and bring you great joy in all that we say and do.

We love you Mom!

5 Comments » | posted in Family News

Psalm 127:3  "Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward."

Children are such a blessing! Last week I had the joy of going down to Texas for about 8 days and help a dear family during the time of their delivery of their 4th child!

What a blessing it was to be with them and to experience once again the excitement and joy of having a new baby in the home. Then to help them wherever there was a need!!

The Lord had laid it on my heart back in January to go and help them during the week of their baby’s due date. But due to some circumstances it did not look like it was going to happen. I began to struggle some what with my attitude and out look because I really felt like God was in this and that His desire was for me to go.

So why was He giving me a death of a vision when He Himself had placed that vision there? Why was He allowing these difficult situations come up and make it look like I would not be able to go and fulfill it?

These kinds of feelings can rise up so quickly in us all and can wreck serious havoc if not dealt with. God allows struggles and problems to arise in order to mold our character and to prune us of our selfish and controlling nature. But we have to submit to Him in order to allow God to do the needed work in our lives.

By the grace of God He revealed to me His hand at work in this situation! Instead of resisting his grace I received it with all meekness and gratefulness in the fact that He gave me eyes to see the bigger picture!! Who am I, to be allowed the privilege to lay aside all worries and anxious feelings? And then be able to rest contentedly in the fact that I know that God worketh all things together for good. (Eph. 1:11) It is only by the grace of God!

God was not to concerned about me knowing when or if I was going to be able to go and help this dear family.   He was more concerned about me learning to submit all my desires for things working out the way I thought they should on a moment by moment bases.

I did not receive a clear answer as to if I was going or not until 3 days before the baby’s due date!   God once again was taking me to the very end to see if I truly had given all my wants and desires to Him. When everything worked out and I was on my way I realized that THIS was the way to walk through every situation!

Why do I believe the lie which tells me to take on the responsibility of having things go according to my time schedule? That is God’s business!  My job is to simply be faithful to what He has called me to at the present moment and to be listening and harkening to His still small voice in order to be able to hear what I am to do next! 

James 1:17  "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

~ "The joy of servanthood is the freedom you have in that it does not really matter what you are doing but that you are making the one you’re serving successful by your willingness to do whatever is asked of you!" ~

6 Comments » | posted in Family News, Ministry Reports

Vroommmmmm, vroommmmmm, put, put, put, put, vroommmmmmmm………………. – silence. My futile attempt to express in English the sounds of a dying Briggs & Stratton engine . Another crank of the key rendered a similar experience for over a dozen times . The engine belonged to  our 20+ year old MTD riding lawn mower. It has faithfully served our family for so long, but was having an awfully hard time coming out of a long hibernation. Neglect not the gift that is in thee… (1 Timothy 4:14).

Through advice from a friend of the family who has years of experience working on small engines, I commenced the troubleshooting project. Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established (Proverbs 15:22). First, the battery was replaced. I learned that each cell on a battery represents 2 volts. Hence, our 12 volt battery has 6 cells. The liquid inside a battery consists of sulfuric acid. And the disciples were filled with joy, and with the Holy Ghost (Acts 15:32). When the level of the fluid drops below the pre-marked line on the exterior of the battery, it is to be replenished with distilled water (a recommended maintenance item on all batteries). With minerals such as calcium found in tap water, contamination of the sulfuric acid can only be avoided with distilled water. The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times (Psalms 12:6).

The original battery’s sulfuric acid level had dropped so low to render rejuvenation futile. A multi-purpose battery (ie. ATV, dirt bike, etc) from Home Depot proved an ideal replacement. Whenever replacing a battery, I am told special care must be given to remove the positive cable first.

After finally realizing that the engine was out of gas , the new battery brought life to the lawn mower. But only enough to start it once at which time bluish white smoke billowed out – ‘oh dear’ I thought. Black smoke is a sign of rich fuel and bluish white smoke is a sign of burning oil. In our case, out of place oil was burning off and rendered no real issue, though a fire extinguisher was kept handy.

After the initial run, the engine refused to be restarted. Adjustments of the choke and throttle proved ineffective. Looking inside the hood with Dad, we discovered a missing screw on the air filter, a loose screw on the carburetor, and another completely missing screw on the other side of the carburetor. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing (James 1:4). This rendered an ineffective carburetor. Praise the Lord for people in our household who save old screws, for the oddly shaped air filter screw was found in a small container of misc screws and nails. A little ‘jerry rigging’ provided an almost perfect fitting screw for the carburetor – we were rolling. Everything was reassembled and with greasy hands but eager anticipation, the key was turned – vroooooommmm! The engine roared to life.

Squeaky sounds, dying engines, smokey hoods, and leaking fuel can often be traced back to a small problem (ie. loose screw, dirty carburetor, old gas, etc) that once addressed and through proper maintenance results in a smooth running machine. What a picture of the body of Christ!

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love (Ephesians 4:16).

4 Comments » | posted in Family News

During a recent family field trip to Richmond, VA, we had the awesome joy of visiting the Virginia Family Foundation. They provided a meaningful tour around Capitol Hill in Richmond, answered questions, and took the time to share powerful testimonies, one of which we felt would encourage all of you.

This is impossible. Humanly speaking, all odds are against us. Through only a miracle could this come to pass.

These and similar thoughts were sure to have pervaded the mind of Chris Friend of the Virginia Family Foundation during the winter months earlier this year. After seeing the inclining of Virginia leaders to strangle religious freedoms of public school students, the Family Foundation knew it was time to make a stand. On one occasion, a Virginia student was harshly reprimanded for including the phrase, "God Bless America," in a 9/11/01 school project. Other similar prohibitions of Christian expressions revealed the effect lawless officials are having. Proactive family groups in Texas lead the charge in favor of religious freedom. Through the assistance of a wise lawyer, a bill was carefully written, lobbied for, and passed into law guaranteeing the right of students to express their faith in school projects.

With the help of the ACLJ (American Center for Law & Justice), the Family Foundation compiled a similar bill. The morning of presentation came quickly. As Mr. Friend shared, he had little hope that this bill would pass. He was to face one of the legislature’s most liberal committees (5 members in all – 3 democrats & 2 republicans). Walking up the hill to the Capitol building from his office on Main Street, Mr. Friend offered up a prayer with the little faith he had. Once inside, he faced the formidable 5, the ACLU, and a liberal Jewish organization. The bill was presented and to Mr. Friend’s surprise, the committee appeared strangely favorable.

Hope began to rise only to be dashed again by the dissenting Jewish organization. They stood up and offered their own religious freedom bill.  Mr. Friend and his accompanying ACLJ attorney took the paper, feeling this may be the death of their vision. Silence echoed across the room as each party read the revised bill. Upon reading, Mr. Friend turned to his attorney friend in amazement who shared the same view. The bill was practically identical, as a matter of fact, better written. Mr. Friend then turned to the Committee and said the Family Foundation accepted the revision. Confusion erupted within the Jewish group for they did not expect such a response from the Family Foundation.

Then with no real explanation or reason all 5 legislatures voted in favor of the bill. It later passed the House 83-15 and the Senate 39-1. Democratic and liberal governor Tim Kaine later approved the bill after changing one word that in no way reduced the impact of the bill. HB 1135 (Student Religious Viewpoint Anti-Discrimination Act), sponsored by Delegate William Fralin, goes into affect July 1st, 2008 and will now protect the right of every child to write about their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. God wrought a miracle. From man’s perspective, the passing of this bill was next to impossible, and it was. But we know"…With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible (Matt. 19:26)."

The principle Mr. Friend emphasized to our family was that God does not call us to be successful, but rather faithful.

2 Comments » | posted in Family News